Lefty Parties Celebrate Victory in Germany

Posted on May 9, 2010

Wikimedia Commons

Angela Merkel has reason to make the Bush-back-rub face: Her ruling coalition just suffered a major loss in a regional election with national implications. The Green Party, the Left Party and, by extension, the Social Democrats were all big winners.

Guardian:

Crucially for Merkel, the poll setback means that her coalition will now lose its majority in the Bundesrat, or upper house of parliament, which will make it far more difficult for her government to push through legislation.

The opposition Social Democrats (SPD), which had run on a par with the CDU in the polls for some weeks, also appear to have won 34.5% of the vote (a loss of 2.6%), while the Greens increased their standing by 6.3% to 12.5% – not enough for the two to form a majority.

The Linke – or Left – party, a relatively new political formation with its roots in the former communist East, increased its influence by securing 6%, enabling it to enter the regional state parliament for the first time.

First, it appears that you need actual lefty parties and candidates? Real ones that actually try to win instead of just running to make some personal point.

Secondly, people have to actually vote for the lefty parties and candidates?

That’s a shock. In America the left believes that you win elections by not forming serious lefty parties, not running serious lefty candidates, and then voting for the candidates who take millions of Wall Street money and oppose every idea the left believes in.

Who’d have thought that voting for a candidate that said he’d continue the wars, bailout Wall Street, pass a corporate friendly health insurance bill and expand the military would result in a government that continues the wars, bails out Wall Street, passed a corporate friendly health insurance bill and expanded the military.

But, all that Wall Street money made the candidate look so cool while he told everyone that this is what he would do.

Who’d have thought that you’d have to actually work for, vote for and elect a lefty candidate or party in order for the left to have an electoral victory? Never would have guessed that!